Chiropractic table



i. sown/IAN; cumorfmclc TABLE." APPLICATIQN FILED IUNE 23'I |921.

'Patented sept, 19, 1922.,

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Patented Sept. 19, lg

g atraves ,onrnornaerro TABLE.

Application filed June 23,

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that f FJLVA BowMAN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of Fort Wayne, in the county of Allen and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Chiropractic Tables, of'which theffo'llowingisa specidominal supports are depressed. And, an"A other object is to provide nieansvin connection with the forward abdominal support for elevating the sternum when in its uppermost normal position. v

These objects are accomplished by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which V n Fig. l is a side elevation of the table embodying the invention, parts thereof being in section; Y

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the table including the knee rest and the abdominal supportingpads, there being a portion broken away; and

Fig. 8 is a frontend elevation of the table.

Similar characters of `reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views and having' reference now to the same The table has for'its frame'a foot pedestal 1 and a head pedestal 2 which are spaced apart and conn'ectedtogether by side rails 3. Upon the upper end vof the foremost legs d of the pedestal l isv pivoteda frame 5, and upon the frame is mounted a knee-rest 6 vadapted l to havelongitudinal sliding movement thereon. A lever V7 is pivotedv at its forward end to the frame and'has a bolt 8 that eX- tends through the side of the frame and en gages in one or the other of a series of holes 9 in the side of the kneerest to thus lock the 4knee-rest in adjusted positions accordingly. The rear end of the frame 5 has hinged thereto'a prop 10, thev lower end of which has a' cleat 11 fixed thereto adapted to rest upon a supporting cleat 12fthat is fixed in the foot pedestal so as to support the fra-me in elevated'position A spring 13 acts against 192i. seriai No. 4719.751.A

the inner'face of the prop to hold it in engagement with the supporting cleat.

.fr horizontal shelf 14 has hinged connection at its rear end, as indicated by 15, in the rear upper part of the foot pedestal and projects*forwardlyvbeyond the forward end of 'the knee-rest 6 and'has mounted thereon a pair of pads 16 for rthe support of the pelvic region of the patient. A; prop 17 is hinged at its upper end tothe underside of the shelf 14 and'is-connected yat its lower end with a stirrup v18, the upper ends of which are pivotallyvconnected in theV foot pedestal.

A toggle mechanism comprised of an arm 1Q and vcrank 2'Ojis arranged in connection with the prop 17, the connecting bar 19 being hinged at its forward enjd to the prop, 'and the crank being mounted in a bracket 21 thaty is securedto'fthe underside of the shelf 111 near its rear end. 'A pair of tension springs 22 are connected at their opposite ends with corresponding cross-bars 23 and -24, the cross-bar'23 being connected with the rear endof thetoggle arm 19, and the bar 2a being connected wit-h an adjusting lever 25 by .means Iof a rod 26. The lever 25 is secured in adjusted positions by means of a hook 27 which vis arranged for connection with screw eyes 28 on the under side of the shelf 14.V j

A lock bar 29 is'hinged at its rear end in connection'with the pedestal 1, its'forward end being adapted tobevdrawn upward so as to engage the 'lower endof the prop 17 and prevent movement thereof. The lock bar is actuated by a lever .30 that is pivoted on one side of thel shelf 14, and which has connection with the' lock bar through the mediumv of a. cable 81'and' coil spring 32.

Upon the upper end'of thehead pedestal 2, at the rear thereof is a cross piece 33 upon which is hinged atilting sternum rest 3ft, the rear portion of which rests upon studs 85 that project"upwardly from the shelfv 1d and extend loosely through the cross piece 32. j v

A. frame 86 is hinged at its rear'end to the cross piece 38 andis supported at its forward end upon a prop 37 that has adljustable supporting connect-ion at its lower end with cleats 38 in the hea-d pedestal, there being a cleat 39 on the prop for engaging the vcleats 38. A. spring i0 bears against the inner face of the prop STand- `acts to hold the prop in engaging position,

is turned upwardly so as to engage andr i support the inner edges `of ythe rests. The outer end .of ythe crank' rod isbent so as to 'lhev shelfV 14 is yieldingly,sustainedl in its form a handle 44 by which vthe rod may be turned. i i In the forward upper portion of the head pedestal 2 is hinged a shelf 14 that extends 'i-e'arwardly from its hinge 15 substantially krin the plane of the shelf 14 in the foot pedestal, and has mounted upon its rear end arestfl for, the support of the abdomen.

uppermost position by a-mechanisin similar 4to that provided foi-the shelf/1 4 in the foot pedestal, the mechanism consisting of a prop 17 sti'rrup 18', toggle arm 19, crank 20,

bracket 21 attached to the shelf, springs22 connectedat 4their respective ends with cross bars 23` and 24, and an adjusting lever 25 lconnected with the `cross bar 24', the various parts being arranged in connection with each otheras in the former instance. Also, a lock-bar 29 is provided for engagement with the lower end of'the prop 17 and arranged to'be controlled by a lever 30 thoughthe medium ofa cable 31, and

spring 32. Y

'In' using the invention, the knee rest()a is adjusted longitudinally on its frame to Vsuit thestature ofthe patient to be' treated,

andthe patient is positioned withthe pelvic 'and abdominal region resting upon the pads 16; and 16', and the face resting kupon the pads 42, which may be accommodatingly 'tilted rso asr to conform with the angularity of the4 face of the. patient, by manipulating the crank. rod handle 44. By manipulating thelevers3O-and'30 so as to relieve the tension of the springs 32 and 32', the corresponding lock bars 29 yand 29 drop from engagement with the props 17 and 17 so that the shelves 14 and 14 may be depressed to an extent dependent upon the weight applied to the .back of the patient in the ous-- toinary manner.v f

A feature of the invention is that the sustaining mechanism for the shelves affords yielding support therefor and with decreasing resistance'as the shelves vareprogressed downwardly. VOrdinarily, in apparatus of this class the tension mechanism by which `.the abdominal supports are sustained affords resistancev to vthe downward thrust vof the abdominal support, which resistance becomes greater as thevsupport is depressed tv vith. the result that great weight and vigorous treatment of tliepatient is required. ln the present invention, however, as the re- `sistance of the sustaining mechanismffor the abdominal supports becomes less as the shelves are depressed, less weight need be .applied with theresult thaty the patient is more gently treated. Thus, chiropractic adjustments may be performed by practitioners with greater ease and ywith more comfort to the patients.

What l claim is :-l

1. In a chiropractic'table, a frame includin-g a foot and a head pedestal spaced apart; va pair of abdominal..v supports inthe space between ythe pedestals-y and having hinged connection respectively kin said pedestals; a stirrup in each of said pedestals; a prop for each abdominal support liaving hinged connection in the corresponding stirrup; a spring resisted toggle mechanismfor sustaining each of said props' in? noninaljposition, and a locking meansadapted to engage each of said pij'opsand holdv the saine in normal position. .Y

2. lin a chiropractic table, a frame;v anabdominalsupport including a shelf yhinged at one end in thel frame and having a padl at the .opposite end thereof; a swinging stirrup supported-'in the frame; a prop connectedflat one end withthestirrup andyhinged atie-its opposite end with theabdominal,support; a toggle mechanism havingjsustainedfrelation with the shelf andl connected at its opposite l end with theA prop' ;1 and tension .mechanism for sustaining the toggle ,mechanism in normalposition.-

3. ln a chiropractic table, a frame;,a ver- `tically movablelshelf hinged at r.one end' thereof in ,the fraine'and having-a` pad at its oppositeend; Va sternum rest hingedy on the frame and having limited movement thereon; means in connection with theshelf for sustaining the sternum rest when the sli-elf is in raised position; a stirrupy hinged lin the frame; a prop yhinged at one endy with the shelf and at its opposite 'end with the stirrup; and a spring resisted toggle mecha nism bearingagainst thev prop vand' tending to hold it in-normal position. 4.,In a chiropractic table, having .a vertically movable abdominal supporting means,

a tiltingsternuni rest hingedupon the frame of the table studs on the abdominal supporting means adapted to come into Contact with and elevate the sternuin rest as the said means approaches its uppermost position; and means on the frame of the tabley adapted vto rlimit the Adownward tilt of the sternum rest. i

k5. vIn a chiropractic table havinga head pedestal, a cross-piece on the rear end ofthe pedestal; a sternuin rest hinged ont-he crosspiece and limited in itsdownward movement thereby; a head supporting member hinged at its rear end to said cross-piecegal vertillO cally adjustable prop supporting the front end of the head supporting member; and a vertically movable abdominal support having means in connection therewith for engagino' and elevating the sternum rest.

6. l a chiropractic table including a frame; a swinging abdominal supporting means hinged in the frame; a prop for sustaining said means; a swinging stirrup pivoted in the iframe at one end. and having connection at its opposite end with the prop a crank having supported relation with said means; a toggle arm on the crank having hinged connection with the prop; and a tension means having connection with the toggle arm adapted to resist movement thereof. ln testimony whereof l aHiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELVA BOVVMAN. Witnesses:

MATILDA METTLER, WALTER Gr. BURNS. 

